Senior Vice President, Community Wellness and Population Health Professor, Medicine Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
As senior vice president of community wellness and population health, Debbie Salas-Lopez, MD, MPH, oversees Northwell Health’s community and population health strategy, including community relations, health management, risk-based arrangements, community health partnerships, corporate social responsibility, and the community health needs assessment across all of our markets. Dr. Salas-Lopez joined Northwell in 2019 as senior vice president for transformation, responsible for system value-based initiatives that improve health and care delivery. She assumed her leadership role after serving as the chief transformation officer at Lehigh Valley Health Network, where she led strategy and oversaw a unique and broad portfolio, including community- based and population health initiatives, telehealth, connected care and innovation, strategic partnerships, and operational redesigning of the clinical delivery system. At Lehigh Valley, Dr. Salas-Lopez held various academic and clinical leadership positions. In 2009, she was appointed the Leonard Parker
Pool Chair of Medicine, a role she served in until 2015 when she became an associate chief medical officer. In 2017, she was appointed chief transformation officer. She is a fellow of the American College of Physicians. Dr. Salas-Lopez is also a nationally recognized speaker and educator on women leaders, health care disparities and equity in care, cultural awareness, language-appropriate services, and the impact of social and economic factors on health. In 2021, Modern Healthcare named her to its annual Top 25 Women Leaders as a “Woman to Watch,” and she received the Tribute to Excellence in Health Care Award from the United Hospital Fund.